Taping machine



H. L. MacBRlD TAPING MACHINE Oct. 20, 1959 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 26, 1956 INVENTOR HERBERT L. MAC saws Oct. 20, 1959 H. M BRIDE 2,909,019

TAPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 26, 19 56 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HERBE RT L. MAC BRIDE ATTORNEY Oct. 20, 1959 Filed Jan. 26, 1956 H. L. MB-CBRIDE TAPING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 PIC-3.5.

INVENTOR. HERg gRT L.MAC BRIDE ATTORNEY Oct. .20, 1959 H. L. M BRlDE 2,909,019

TAPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 26, 1956 INVEINTOR Fl 6. HERBERT LnMAC BRIDE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Oct. 20, 1959 H. L. M BRlDE TAPING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 26, 1956 R m H W.

HERBERT L. MAC BRIDE BY 770mm A'FQFORN EV Oct. 20, 1959 H. L. M BRIDE 2,909,019

TAPING MACHINE Filed Jan. 26, 1956 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 FIG. '3. INVENTOR.

HERBg RT L. MAC BRIDE ATTORNEY United States Patent 1 2,909,019 TAPING MACHINE Herbert L. MacBride, Warren, Pa., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Sylvania Electric Products Inc., Wilmington, Del., .a corporation of Delaware Application January 26, 1956, Serial No. 561,447. 6 Claims. (Cl. 53-198) Ihis invention relates to an apparatus for binding together a plurality of strand-like articles such as wires. It is particularly applicable to performing an operation wherein a number of wires are wrapped with a strip of tape at spaced intervals along the length of the wires.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide an improved apparatus for wrapping together a number of small diameter, elongated elements such as electrical lead wires with a strip of tape. In the disclosed embodiment of the invention, this object is accomplished by the provision of a machine having a cradle for receiving and transferring the wires to a wrapping position whereat a tape feed mechanism presents an adhesive coated tape for receiving the wires. A tape wrapping head is mounted for reciprocating rotational motion about the wrapping position, and is provided with a recess portion having a curvilinear surface symmetrically disposed about the center of the taping position. The wrapping head rolls the tape around approximately half of the wire bundle periphery during one portion of its reciprocating rotational movement, and about the other half of the bundle periphery on the return movement. A final forming device subsequently moves into the wrapping position and clenches the ends of the adhesive tape strip together. A motor driven cam operable by the cradle initiates the sequential movement of the tape feed mechanism, tape wrapping head, and final forming device.

Previously proposed machines for taping wires generally required the wires to be wedged into a recess, with the tape being applied by a subsequent wiping operation performed by a number of separately mounted and separately movable wiping fingers. This type of apparatus is expensive to construct due to its large number of component parts, and it is not adaptable for high speed production. In addition, the treatment and handling of the wires very often breaks the insulation covering the wires.

The configuration and movement of the wrapping head shown in the preferred embodiment of the invention provides an improved and simplified means for wrapping a bundle of wires together, since it rolls the tape about the Wires while they are extended substantially strain-free in space between two portions of the cradle.

Accordingly, a further object of the invention is the provision of a wire taping machine embodying an improved wrapping head.

Another object is the provision of an improved wire taping apparatus having a wire positioning device which inauguratesthe sequential movements necessaryto complete the wrapping operation.

A still further object is to provide a wire taping machine embodying an improved motion dependent device for initiating the sequential movements necessary to complete the wire wrapping operation.

, Further objects will be apparent after reading the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

; into a semi-circular bundle.

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the taping machine constituting one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a section taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the taping machine;

Fig. 4 is a section taken along line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a section taken along line 55 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a partially cut-away plan view of the tape feed mechanism embodied in one aspect of the invention;

Fig. 7 shows an electron tube base and its associated taped lead wires illustrating one application of the taping machine described as one embodiment of the invention; and

Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 show the operation of the motion actuation cam embodied in one aspect of the apparatus.

Referring to the drawings, the wire taping machine is provided with a frame '11 having a wire receiving and positioning mechanism or cradle 13 pivotally attached thereto by means of arm 14; Mounted on the upper rear portion of frame 11 is a tape spool hub .15 which has a tape roll 17 mounted thereon by means of a' spring 19. Positioned adjacent the edge of spool 17 is a roller 21 which guides the travel of the tape 22. Mounted upon the forward portion of frame 11 is a tape wrapping device or head 23 and a rotatably mounted tape carrier or tape feed mechanism 25. Also rotatably attached to frame '11 is a final tape clencher or forming finger 27. Located on top of the frame is a block 26 having an indicator 28 fastened thereto by means of screw 30. This indicator serves as a means for operator determination of the .desired space between the tapewrappings.

Movement for wrapping head 23, tape feed mechanism 25, and former 27 is inaugurated by cradle 13 and pro vided by a continuously operating motor (not shown) acting on drive shaft 29. The shaft is connected to cam 31, which provides the sequential operative movements for the apparatus.

Referring particularly to Fig. 2, the shaft is rigidly affixed to a motor shaft coupling 33. .The shaft terminates in flange 35 which abuts leather friction disc 37 over a portion of one of its major faces. A plate 39 frictionally engages the opposed major face of disc 37.- Pins 41 lock plate 39 with flange 35 so that the continuously rotating shaft 29 provides a frictional engage ment between one of the faces of disc 37 and flange 35 and between the opposed face and plate 39. The pressure on disc 37 is adjusted by means of a spring 43 tensioned by nut 45 and washer 47.

Friction disc 37 is secured to cam 31 by means 0 screws 49 so that flange 35 is continually rotating within the recess 51 provided in the cam. A shaft 53 is securely aflixed to cam 31 and is provided with bearing 55 which allows shaft 53 to rotate within frame 11 and sleeve 57. Integral with the end of the shaft is a limit arm 59, which is separated from bearing 55 by washer 56. The limit arm cooperates with linkages to be later described to allow the shaft and attached cam 31 to make one revolution when the limit arm is released.

The wire cradle 13 is provided with a pair of spaced side plates 61 to receive the bundle of Wires which are stretched across the plates at the beginning of the taping operation. One of the plates has a cut-out portion 63 formed therein so that the plate will clear the shaft attached to wrapper head 23. Recesses 65 are provided in plates 61 to receive the wires and form them generally The position of cradle 13 relative to the frame when it is in a wire receiving position is determined by stop 67 and limit arm 69 The adhesive tape 22 supplied to carrier 25 from spool 17 feeds over roller 21 and into the tape retention jaws 71 provided on the carrier so that the adhesive side of the tape is facing cradle 13 when it is extended between the jaws straddling the wire receiving position. Referring particularly to Fig. 6, carrier 25 comprises a wheel 77 rotatably mounted on shaft 79 by means of sleeve 81. The jaws 71 are mounted symmetrically about the periph cry of wheel 77 so that they are spaced equi-di'stant from oneanother. The jaws comprise a pair of spaced lugs 83 integral with wheel 77 for supporting'rotatable jaw sections 85, which are disposed intermediate the lugs and supported by means of pins 87. Rigidly affixed to wheel 77 and lugs 83 is the stationary jaw sections 89. As the wheel 77 revolves about shaft 79, the jaws are opened and closed in accordance with their positions on the wheel relative to the wire receiving: position. The tape feeding from spool 17 first contacts the jaw disposed opposite the wire receiving position. A cam 91 is mounted adjacent wheel 77 so that the movable jaw sections 85 cooperate with cam surface 93 to rotate sections 85 progressively from a closed position to a completely open position at that portion of the wheel 77 opposite the wire receiving position to allow the tape to proceed without interference. As wheel 77 continues to rotate jaws 71, the end of movable jaw sections 85 disengage cam surface 93, and the movable jaw section is spring returned to a closed position over the tape. Cam 91 is arranged to operate only on the two jaws 71 immediately following the wire receiving position. Therefore, two jaws are continuously open or partially open while the remaining feed jaws are continuously closed.

The sequential rotational movement of tape feed mechanism 25 is initiated by the forward movement of cradle 13 and attached cradle arm 14. Referring particularly to Figs. 4 and 5, shaft 67 has mounted thereon a pawl 95 which is constantly being urged upwardly by a spring 97. Since this shaft is mounted on cradle 13, a forward motion of the cradle will thrust pawl 95 forward. The end of pawl 95 is formed to cooperate with the teeth on ratchet 99. The ratchet is provided with five teeth corresponding in positions to the five jaws 71, so that for each forward movement of pawl 95, wheel 77 will rotate approximately one fifth of its circumference. A detent 101, which is continually urged toward the center of shaft 79 by spring 103, provides the means for looking the ratchet after each partial rotative movement.

Wrapping head 23 is mounted upon shaft 79 so that the horizontal axis of the shaft lies equi-distant between the jaws 71 straddling the wire receiving position. Wrapping head 23 is formed with a recess 105 having a curvilinear surface symmetrically arranged about its axis. The recess progresses in both vertical directions from a central crest portion to reentrant curved well portions terminating at the edge of the recess. Alfixed to the upper edge of recess 105 is a cutter blade 107, which moves with the wrapping head to sever the tape at the offset of the wrapping operation.

The final former or clencher 27 is mounted upon crank 109, which is in turn affixed to frame 11 by shaft 111. Crank 109 is split to provide two upwardly extending sections 113 and 115. The spring 117 operates on section 113 to urge the crank towards cam 31. Pivotally connected to section 115 by pin 119 is a former link 121, which is pivotally attached to rocker arm 123 by means of pin 124. The opposing side of the rocker arm is mounted to the frame 11 by means of pin 125. A roller 127 is mounted upon rocker arm 123 to provide movement for the rocker arm by means of the engagement between roller 127 and cam 31. The cam surface operates through the rocker arm 123, former link 121 and former crank 109 to move the final former arm 27 to and from the wrapping position.

The wrapping head 23 is also actuated by the movement of cam 31. Connected to the wrapping head by means of shaft 79 is a crank arm 129, which is in turn connected to link 131 by pin 130. A wrapper rocker arm 135 is mounted upon link 131 by means of pin 133 on one end to frame 11 by pin 137 on the other. Spring 4 139 operates on the rocker arm to urge the roller 141 downwardly and therefore in continuous contact with the surface of cam 31. The rotation of the cam surface operating on roller 141 provides the movement for wrapper head 23 so that the tape is sequentially presented to the bundle of wires, cut to correct length and rolled about the bundle.

Cam 31 rotates one revolution for each tape wrapping operation. Since motor driven shaft 29 is continually rotating, there is a constant torque imparted to cam shaft 53 through friction disc 37. Cam release means actuated by the movement of cradle arm 14 are provided to release the normally locked shaft 53 for one revolution during each tape wrapping operation. Referring particularly to Fig. 1, a cam actuating link 143 is attached to cradle arm 14 by pin 145. Link 143 engages lugs 151 and 153 respectively. Lug 151 is mounted upon latch 155, which is affixed to frame 11 by means of pin 157. An additional lug 159, mounted adjacent the lower extremity of latch 155, is connected to a spring 161 attached to frame 11 by pin 163. Spring 161 ispositioned to impart a clockwise bias on latch 155.

Lug 153, slidably confined within slot 149, is integral with a release arm 165. This arm is rotatably mounted to frame 11 by pin 167, and is maintained under a pressure by means of the spring 169 and its connection to pins 171 and 173.

A limit arm 59 is afiixed to earn 31 by means of shaft 53. Cooperating with arm 59 is a stop dog 175 which is pivotally mounted upon frame 11 by pin 177. The stop dog is provided with three sprockets, 179, 181, and 183 which operatively engage limit arm 59, latch 155 and release arm 165 respectively. The stop dog is biased counterclockwise by means of a spring 185 which is connected between lugs 187 and 189. The curved surface 190 on stop dog 175 forms a cam for limit arm 59.

Cam 31, mounted on shaft 53 and rotated by motor driven shaft 29, is substantially circular over approximately 270 of its periphery, the remainder of the periphery providing a surface circumscribing a raised pore tion and a depression. Cam 31 rotates to impart movement first to the wrapper head 23 and subsequently to final former 27.

The embodiment of the taping apparatus described above operates to wrap a plurality of insulated wires together with a single width turn of the tape 22. The wires are placed within recess 65 of cradle 13 by an operator who subsequently begins to move the pivotally mounted cradle forward. At this time, the wrapper head 23 is in the wire receiving position shown in Fig. 1, while the tape wound upon jaws 71 of tape carrier 25 extends only to the jaw positioned immediately above cutter blade 107. The continued forward movementof cradle 13 causes pawl to operate on ratchet 99 thereby rotating tape carrier 25 approximately 72 to bring the tape across the wire receiving position. Continued forward movement of cradle 13, with its attachedarm 14, causes cam actuating link 143 to be thrust forward to allow latch and release arm to be influenced primarily by their respective springs 161 and 169. As link 143 approaches maximum forward movement, the end of slot 149 forces release arm 165 to proceed'in a clockwise direction. This movement of the release arm allows stop dog to drop under the influence of spring 185, thereby releasing limit arm 59 from sprocket 179 and allowing the limit arm and attached cam to begin its rotation through one revolution. When limit arm 59 moves about 45 it rides upon surface ,190 of stop dog 17 5 and thereby forces the pivotally mounted stop dog to assume the position shown in Fig. l by the dotted lines. At this time latch 155, biased forward by spring 161, engages stop dog 175 along sprocket 181 and thereby locks the stop dog in the upwardposition. Limit arm 59 continues to rotate until it again comes'into contact with sprocket 179, which looks the limit arm and at tached cam 31 until it is actuated by another forward movement of cradle 13.

Referring particularly to Figs. 8 through 13 inclusive, the rotation of cam 31 provides the wrapping movements for the machine. When cradle 13 moves the wires into the position where they are adjacent the crest of depression 105 as shown in Fig. 8, the tape held between jaws 71 is trapped intermediate the wires and the crest. The tape begins to slip from the lower jaw, but is held firmly by the upper jaws. Cam 3 1 at this time has begun its rotatory movement, and the raised portion of the cam surface rides under roller 141 to move rocker arm 135, link 131, and crank arm 12? so that wrapper head 23 rotates downwardly. Tape cutter 107 severs the tape during the off-set of this motion, and the upper reentrant portion of recess 105 proceeds to wrap the tape about the upper peripheral half of the wire bundle as seen in Fig. 9. Further rotation of cam 31 brings roller 141 in contact with the cam depression, thereby causing wrapper head 23 to reciprocate and roll the tape about the lower peripheral half of the wire bundle by means of the lower recess reentrant portion as illus-' trated in Fig. 10. Cam 31 proceeds to turn, and it subsequently brings wrapper head 23 back to its central position while at the same time bringing roller 127 intocontact with the raised portion of the cam to momentarily force final former 27 outwardly as seen in Fig. 11. Roller 127 subsequently rides into the cam depression section, which causes former arm 27 to move into the taping position to clench the tape ends. This movement is motivated by the action of rocker arm 123 operating on former link 121 and former crank 109, to which the final former is attached. Fig. 12 illustrates the position of the machine cam operative components at this position of the wrapping procedure. Continued rotation of cam 31 .brings roller 127 to the circular part of the cam surface, thereby returning former 27 to its rest position as shown in Fig. 13.

After the single cam rotation and the wrapping operation has been completed, cradle 13 is moved outwardly by the operator, thereby pulling link 143 with it. The end of slot 147 acts on pin 15]. to force latch 155 to become disengaged from sprocket 181. Limit arm 59 is maintained in a locked position by means of cooperation between sprocket 183 and release arm 165. At this point the cam releasing elements and the machine wrapping and feeding components are all returned to their initial position and are primed for a subsequent wrapping operation.

A wrapping machine constructed in accordance with the embodiment shown and described above is adaptable for automatic production. In addition, it provides an efiicient means for wrapping strand-like articles such as the wire leads for an electrical connector with a turn of tape as illustrated by the cathode ray tube base adaptor and leads shown in Fig. 7.

Although one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be apparent that variations and modifications may be made therein Without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for taping strand-like articles comprising a device for moving said articles to a taping position, means responsive to the operation of said device for disposing tape adjacent said articles, and a taping head mounted for reciprocating rotative movement responsive to the operation of said device for applying the tape to said articles.

2. A machine for taping strand-like articles comprising a device for moving said articles to a taping position, means responsive to the operation of said device for disposing tape adjacent said articles, and a taping head mounted for reciprocating rotative movement responsive to the operation of said device for cutting a strip of tape and wrapping said strip around said articles.

3. A machine for taping strand-like articles comprising a device for moving said articles to a taping position, means responsive to the operation of said device for disposing tape adjacent said articles, and a taping head having a recess formed to provide oppositely disposed reentrant well portions, said taping head being responsive to the operation of said device for cutting a strip of tape and for rolling the tape around said articles by a reciprocating rotative movement, one of said reentrant well portions applying a portion of said tape and the opposed reentrant well portion applying the remainder of said tape.

4. A machine for taping strand-like articles comprising a device for moving said articles to a taping position, means responsive to the operation of said device for disposing tape adjacent said articles, a taping head mounted for reciprocating rotative movement responsive to the operation of said device for cutting a strip of tape and wrapping said strip around the articles, and a forming arm responsive to the operation of said device for clenching the ends of said strip together.

5. In a machine for taping together a plurality of wires, a cradle for receiving and feeding the wires to a wrapping position, a tape carrier operable by said cradle provided with jaws for grasping the tape and positioning the tape to receive said wires, a cam mounted for rotational movement, driving means providing motion to said cam, means responsive to the operation of said cradle for initiating movement of said cam, a tape wrapping head mounted for reciprocating rotational movement operable by said cam and having a recess defining opposed reentrant well sections, said well sections operating on said tape to wrap the tape around said bundle.

6.- In a machine for taping together a plurality of wires, a cradle for receiving and feeding the wires to a Wrapping position, a tape carrier operable by 'said cradle provided with jaws for grasping the'tape and positioning the tape to receive said wires, a cam mounted for rotational movement, driving means providing motion to said cam, means responsive to the operation of said cradle for initiating movement of said cam, a tape wrapping head with a tape cutter mounted thereon operable by said cam and having a recessed symmetrical curvilinear wrapping surface, said wrapping head being mounted for reciprocating rotational movement to sequentially cut a strip of tape, wrap a portion of said strip around part of said wire bundle, and wrap the remaining portion of said strip around the remaining part of the bundle, and a final former operable by said cam for clenching the ends of said strip together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,837,840 Slusher Dec. 22, 1931 2,383,664 Malhiot Aug. 28, 1945 2,543,323 Marsh Feb. 27, 1951 

